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The Bentley Continental GT and GTC V8 has been unwrapped and it's a kinder, gentler bulldog that makes do with "just" 500 horsepower and 481 pound-feet from its 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8. That is down 20 horsepower and up just 8 pound-feet from the output of the Audi S8, with which it shares the innovatively-packaged, cylinder-deactivating V8. We're going to guess that's to leave unquestionable space between it and the 631-hp Continental GT, and so Bentley could reach its 40 percent improvement goal with respect to emissions and gas mileage.

Specific numbers aren't divulged just yet, but it will get from standstill to 60 mph in under five seconds and will go more than 500 miles on a tank. Unless the tank size has changed from the 24-gallon receptacle in the big daddy W12, which we doubt, that means the V8 is good for at least 21 miles per gallon.

You'll be able to tell this one apart by its black grille with chrome accents, red Bentley "B" badge (red badges were traditionally used on sportier Bentleys, so we're not sure if that's meant to be a sign of this coupe's performance vs. the W12) and reworked treatment of the lower grille. The package rides on 20-inch wheels, same size as the flagship GT, but in back you'll find "figure-eight" tailpipes (which will quickly be swapped for something less obvious) and another red badge.

Both coupe and sedan will introduce themselves to rich buyers and not-so-rich voyeurs at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. You'll find a press release after the jump with obligatory references to inconceivable colors like Dark Fiddleback Eucalyptus, and a high-res gallery of photos for much more understandable pleasures above.

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Google's rumored Flipboard competitor is finally here, and it's ditched the Propeller codename for something a little more appropriate: Currents. The app is available for both Android and iOS -- in tablet and phone-friendly formats -- and delivers a more magazine like reading experience for perusing your consumable content. The free app offers you a swipeable, graphics-heavy way to read material from partners like AllThingsD, PBS, Huffington Post and Fast Company, as well public Google+ feeds and RSS. You can even import your Google Reader subscriptions -- and it all gets cached for offline viewing. Of course, the whole thing is integrated with Google+ too, for quick and easy sharing. For publishers, Google is providing self-service tools for customizing how their content is displayed in the app. You can go download it now in the Android Market and in the iTunes App Store for free but, before you go, check out the video after the break to see it in action.

Update: It looks like Currents is US only for the time being. Sorry international readers, you'll just have to find some other way to shove traditional magazines towards extinction.

Selasa, 06 Desember 2011

Is there any tablet that's hotter than the Transformer Prime right now? (Please, don't say the Kindle Fire.) For weeks we geeks, early adopters and people who love their tech toys have been awaiting this, and none too patiently. Make no mistake: this will be one of the slickest products we test this year and it isn't just because the original Transformer had such an inventive design. The Prime is the first device packing NVIDIA's hot-off-the-presses Tegra 3 SoC, making it the world's first quad-core tablet. This comes with promises of longer-than-ever runtime and blazing performance (five times faster than Tegra 2, to be exact), all wrapped in a package measuring just 8.3mm (0.33 inches) thick -- even skinnier than the iPad 2 or Galaxy Tab 10.1. Throw in specs like a Super IPS+ Gorilla Glass display, eight megapixel rear camera and a confirmed ICS update in the pipe and even we seen-it-all Engadget editors were drooling.

All of which means we dropped just everything when a 32GB Prime showed up on our doorstep earlier this week, and soon enough, you'll have your chance to nab one too. ASUS announced today that the WiFi-only models will be available through online sellers the week of December 19th, and in retail the week after. (No word yet on 3G versions for the US just yet.) It'll start at $499 for the 32GB model -- not bad considering five hundred bucks is the going rate for a high-end tablet with 16GB of storage. From there you can get a 64GB number for $599, while that signature keyboard dock will set you back a further $149. Worth it? Read on to find out.

In the off-chance that you haven't already started holiday shopping for your favorite Engadget editors, we'd like to turn your attention to the new X0-1 from hobby RC car manufacturer, Traxxas. This little speed demon can do zero to 60MPH in 2.3 seconds and zero to 100MPH in a cool 4.92 seconds. The diminutive sports car also has built-in speed, voltage and RPM monitoring. It'll go on sale December 30th for $1,100, for a slightly belated -- and rather expensive -- gift for the Fast and the Furious reenactor in your life. Video of this sucker in action after the break.

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People build stress by thinking about an issue all day or get into a cycle where worrying about something leads to the the behavior we were worried about, such as eating too much because we spend too much time worrying about gaining weight or continually arriving late to work due to the pressure of not running late. We have to break these cycles in order to reduce stress and accomplish our goals. To accomplish this, blogger Tim Horie recommends that we divide our day into three distinct operational modes: thinking, doing, and relaxing. More »